Aussie Ethicist: Babies Should be Custom-Made

Couples should be able to design the characteristics of children - including personality traits -during IVF treatment, according to an Oxford University expert.

Australian-born ethicist and chair of Oxford’s Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics Julian Savulescu told NEWS.com.au that couples seeking IVF should have the right to give their future-child “greater opportunities” through genetic manipulation.

“If they were having IVF for other reasons and they wanted to select from a bunch of embryos already created for some legitimate purpose, I don’t see why we shouldn’t give couples information that (manipulation is) available,” Savulescu said.